Alexandre Desplat

Photos with Alexandre Desplat

Biography

Paris, France (1961 – present)

Alexandre Michel Gérard Desplat (born 23 August 1961 in Paris, France) is a French film score composer. Notably, he has received six Academy Award nominations, six BAFTA nominations, five Golden Globe nominations, five Grammy nominations and six César nominations, winning a Golden Globe for his work on “The Painted Veil” (2006), a Grammy for his work on “The King’s Speech” (2011) and a César for his work on “De Battre Mon Cœur S’est Arrêté” (2006) and “The Ghost Writer” (2011). In 2011, Desplat won his first British Academy Film Award for his score for “The King’s Speech”. Read more... Desplat was born in Paris to a French father and a Greek mother. At the age of five, he began playing piano. He also became proficient on trumpet and flute. He studied with Claude Ballif and Iannis Xenakis in France and Jack Hayes in the U.S. Desplat’s musical interests were wide, and he was also influenced by South American and African artists and teachers, among whom were Carlinhos Brown and Ray Lema.